Debate on gay marriage draws crowd

Robert H. Knight and Jason West, both concerned about homosexuals, Knight for their souls, West for their acceptance, debated the issue of same-sex marriage Wednesday night in a packed ballroom at the University of Northern Colorado.

Knight told the audience about two friends he believed to be gay. He said he worries about the men’s safety from disease and their eternal salvation.

West offered the story of a gay friend who told him of the hardships homosexuals endured in primarily heterosexual society. He said he worries about homosexuals’ civil rights and their place in society.

Knight, the director of the Culture and Family Institute,

has become a conservative leader in the fight against same-sex marriage. He warned those who attended the debate any sex outside marriage was harmful and could be treated with prayer and counseling.

West caught attention when he became the mayor of New Paltz, N.Y., as a Green Party candidate at age 26. He became even more famous when he performed 25 same-sex marriages in February 2003. He said the legal rights tied to marriage forced him to treat it as a civil rights issue.

More than 250 people packed the ballrooms at the University Center to listen to what the men had to say. Organizers had to retract a center divider to enlarge the room and students and members of the community lined up five to eight people deep behind microphones to ask questions.

Aims student Matthew Parker, 23, of Greeley sat near the front. He watched as members of the audience bristled when Knight made statements such as “Nobody’s born gay. I’ll say that flat out.”

“It’s getting a lot more heated than I thought,” Parker said.

Still, he said anything that opened a dialogue in the community was an asset.

The dialogue was definitely open. The men spoke about everything from the Old Testament to the existence of gay penguins. One major point of contention was whether homosexuality is learned or inherent.

Knight compared the homosexual urges some feel as teenagers to inclinations to start smoking. Knight, who frequently referenced scientific studies and a theological basis for his arguments, said he would accept the label of politically incorrect in order to steer kids away from a lifestyle that put them at risk for AIDS and damnation.

West responded that straight and gay couples could enter into dangerous relationships, and it was the disastrous relationship they should avoid.